Course Feedback (Fall 2014 )
[Surveys: 49 ]
Did this course help develop or strengthen the following skills?
Yes No Not sure % Yes
Reading 37 6 6 75.5
Writing 35 8 6 71.4
Note-taking 46 3 0 93.8
Interpretation 36 3 10 73.4
Historical thinking 47 0 2 95.9
Critical analysis 41 3 5 83.6
Time management 38 6 5 77.5
Total Yes = 81 . 6 %
History of Science
What would you KEEP about this course & why?
I’d keep the amount of homework and the way that the class is managed because I can honestly say it helped me be more responsible and know how to manage my time.
Historical thinking. I now know that history is more than just dates. You need to look at the historical context of things instead of just memorizing the dates.
I enjoyed the rigorous schedule & work. This class was very interesting and less full of bullshit than my other class here @ Kirkwood. I would keep this class exactly the way it is.
I think everything is fine about the course. I feel as though any reason that I couldn’t increase my grade was due to not doing homework.
The way we take quizzes. We are allowed to use our notes and have opportunity for bonus points—I really think that helps a lot of students out.
I’m going to keep the books on Evolution & Einstein, they were pretty interesting & I really want to finish it, thanks!
I would keep just about everything in this course. I learned a lot and the large amount of homework helped me to better understand the material.
I think the amount of homework should be kept because it did help me finally stop procrastinating and actually start doing things.
All the exams. It gives a lot of insight to the strengths and weaknesses I have in writing. Also, this class in general tells me how much I can really interpret reading.
I liked how much we did i.e., homework, quizzes because I think that it really made me work hard & it was a challenge but I feel that this course helped me improve more than I know.
I thought the daily quizzes over readings were a great way to motivate students to read, & take better notes while they read. Especially the chance for bonus points.
Videos, extra credits, Video just gives students clear understanding and visualization of what is going, extra credit gives motivation, that you have chance to pick up your grade even if you failed a quiz beforehand.
What is the MOST IMPORTANT thing you learned in this course?
History is more than just dates and facts. I avoided history classes in high school for this reason. But now, I thoroughly enjoy history.
Good note taking will go a long way during my college career, & I’ve learned to take a step back & look at the bigger picture
That the amount of effort you put into a class is the grade you’re going to get.
Study habits, as I know this is a history class I feel that this is like a college prep class although it is more than that. I like the topics that are covered and I like how it actually teaches and tests how ready we are for a larger work load.
To always stay on top of my work & not put it off until the last moment because this isn’t a course you can breeze right through, you actually have to work for your grade which is challenging at times but worth it.
Time management & note taking. I have never been one to take a lot of notes, or any at all, and in my other classes I do just fine. However in this class, to do well, note taking is needed. It forced me to have a little bit more responsibility where school is concerned.
Not to judge the past as stupid based on what those people had in their day and age.
I learned to take better notes.
I learned a lot about history, in specific how each individual contributed to science. Like before I took this class, I had heard the name of Aristotle a lot but I didn’t really know much about him.
Time management. Once I got into the “groove” of things I had a good system going. I made very good use of my time, which ended up helping me in other classes as well.
Can’t evaluate importance of historical event as more important or less. I have learned history of science from Ancient Greek almost up until now. Maybe not everything due to lack of time. Learned a lot about people who dedicated their lives for science.
Behind everything, there is a beginning & it’s pretty awesome to see where this all starts. Also, shaking a tail feather is ? the battle, but never quit, just so you can prove yourself wrong! J
What would you CHANGE about this course & why?
Nothing. [4X]
Nothing I think absolutely needs changed. The exams you give out are great for measuring what the student really knows about the topic.
Nothing really besides maybe the amount of writing for tests just because my hand would start to cramp.
There is really nothing I would change. I got a lot out of this course and can’t think of any improvements.
Not much. Pretty fair game.
I wouldn’t change anything about the course except maybe play more videos during lectures. I found that the videos played during lectures were very helpful and informing.
The first book was a hard pill to swallow, interesting, just a tough read.
As many would say this class has a high work load, I agree but it makes sense why. This class helped get serious about college. I would change is how test what we read for our homework. I feel that just the keywords may not be enough. Otherwise I think you should change nothing about this course.
It would be nice to slow down the speed of the class & how much we do in such little time but I know that we should do as much work in the time that we are given.
I didn’t like how on Thursday we had the same amount of work as Tuesday [this isn’t true if you go back and look at the homework assignments on Angel] because we have 4 days to go & Tuesday work done but one day for Thursday. It’s not the amount of homework it was just a Tuesday, Thursday class thing. There’s no way to change that.
Additional Comments:
To be honest, when I first started this class, I had my doubts if I was going to make it through, I can see now that with hard work and effort, it is possible to pass it. I really feel like I deserve my grade in this class. Thanks for everything! J
I’m glad I took this class because I have always been a pretty lazy student who relied on my smarts to get by. I was extremely lazy in the beginning of this class and it clearly showed in my grade. Though I wasn’t able to raise my grade to what I would have liked, I believed I learned a lot more of a life lesson on actually putting effort forth in class and work to receive the end result I want. Also helped me develop better study habits and overall (since I did so poorly in the beginning of class) I believe I received the grade I deserved.
In this course I liked the topics we covered and it gave a lot of historical background
Juggle more, that was neato mosquito! J
Holocaust & Genocide
What would you KEEP about this course & why?
Nothing. [really? Nothing, you took the wrong class then, sorry! L]
Note taking abilities, historical thinking, critical analysis & interpretation skills
I would keep the readings assigned in the book because I think it does a great job explaining events.
I would keep the book because I think that it is a very important read.
The note taking with videos, it helped me pay attention a lot better and get more out of what I was watching.
I learned a lot about the Holocaust. I came in only knowing a tiny bit & I will be leaving knowing a lot more.
The quizzes because that should be easy points if you do the work. As well as the summary papers you provided or outline sheets, those were very helpful.
Your viewpoints on teaching the course because I’ve had teachers attempt to “sugar coat” it, which I think is beyond disgusting.
That reading the textbook is probably a good way to learning the course material. The quizzes & random writing in this class was also nice. I enjoyed the documentaries as well.
I would keep pretty much everything. I thought that this class was pretty straight forward and not terribly hard.
The book was very informative and interesting. I learned a lot about the time period before, during and after the Holocaust.
Learning about more than just the Holocaust.
You could choose whether or not you wanted to do the final and that we talked about events that led up to the Holocaust.
The everyday quizzes, it helps keep kids attendance up that truly care about the class.
The Warning from History videos online.
I like the daily quizzes over reading it helps apply what we read.
I loved learning about the context of this course I think it’s something everyone should learn.
The speed of the class is great it allows you to take in the new information but you can still keep in mind what you learned before. I like how you review and point us toward the big picture.
What is the MOST IMPORTANT thing you learned in this course?
How to really be a college student to be honest. I learned a lot about the Holocaust and how it happened but the most important thing learned would be how to be a student. Thank you.
Studying/note taking I improved a lot in both areas
Being an organized student, you can’t do your work last minute, so organization for myself I learned. Interpreting history, what was true and what wasn’t.
Learning the proper way to analyze evidence and improving my note taking skills while watching documentaries.
Reading, watching the videos, and actually paying attention helps a lot. Do your work and you can excel.
That all the facts about the Holocaust that I thought I knew before this class were wrong.
I learned in extensive detail about the events that lead up to Holocaust, the actual Holocaust, and then the genocides that happened after it. I have learned more about the events and the Holocaust from this class.
The doing your homework and taking good notes will get you a pretty good grade in most classes.
History is based on facts not opinions and to look at credibility of people and sources when analyzing.
To focus on the big picture not neglecting specific details but using certain details to explain and to support the big picture.
Honestly, I can’t pick one thing, in high school I had an amazing history teacher, but your class expanded what he taught on a whole new level, and I have been e-mailing him giving by advice on what would have better helped me personally prepare for you class. I look at the Holocaust and genocides in a totally different light.
How to prepare myself for different things.
That with some of the genocides like with the Cambodia genocide there were no trials. No one got charged. [as stated in class, this is happening currently over the past several years]
The importance of these genocides. Just knowing the importance so we don’t repeat history.
A genocide can happen at any time, anywhere, and to anyone.
Why the Holocaust happened, who was all involved & especially leading up to the Holocaust, who was in leadership, etc.
All the genocides.
The Holocaust, Hitler, hatred of Jews, concentration camps and so on. I really enjoyed this course. Even though it had a lot of HW, I enjoyed this class overall and your teaching. Well done! Keep teaching this class to other students! Smile more too! J
What would you CHANGE about this course & why?
Nothing, I think you get what you put into the class & I like that.
I wouldn’t change anything. I like that we have quizzes and bonus points to help boost our grade.
Not sure.
I can’t think of anything I would change, you get the grade that you earn you just have to be willing to put in the work.
I don’t think I’d change anything. Everything that we did was never unexpected.
Maybe have more readings than videos because half the time the videos didn’t work. [did you ever contact me about this? Too late now!]
Video & note quiz should be online [nope, it’s not an online course] or given out on paper, rushed through a lot [about the same amount of time on every quiz], hard to see, ended up missing more than expected because of not enough time.
I would show some more images of some of the events.
Less True/False during class maybe outside work.
I understand why all the test are writing, but I just wish that the tests weren’t ALL writing.
The assignments, I’m not saying the work load is too much, I realize this is college but many reading assignments [don’t think this is true, give examples, and it’s not bad for most, it’s reinforcement of material in a variety of ways] repeated exactly [??] what the book and the video had just said its heaving enough material hearing about the same awful material three times [??] in a row in one night is overwhelming. [yes, that’s the nature of this course material: overwhelming]
Less homework, I personally thought some of the assignments didn’t help me in understanding the big picture material, Textbook ok, video ok, some reading assignments not ok [examples?]
The writing assignments in class didn’t every really help me, I felt rushed for time when writing them and felt I couldn’t fit all I needed to say in there to get points. Give more time on those.